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January 24, 2001: Sports Rink-Master: Men's hockey tabs Len Quesnelle '88 head coach Flying high with the Eagles: Marc Ross '95 has an eye for talent Sports Web Exclusives! Matt Golden's From the Cheap Seats column Rink-Master: Men's hockey tabs Len Quesnelle '88 head coach
His youthful cockiness
in check, Quesnelle developed into a standout defenseman for the
Tigers, garnering All-Ivy honors and receiving the Class of 1941
Championship Award his senior year. He says, “I was a dependable,
stay-at-home defenseman who concentrated on the fundamentals of
his position.” Sixteen years later,
Quesnelle remains the most dependable cog in the Princeton men’s
hockey program. Following a 12-year assistant coaching apprenticeship
at Princeton that began after his graduation from Old Nassau, Quesnelle
has replaced Don “Toot” Cahoon as the Tigers’ head
coach. During his tenure on Cahoon’s staff, Quesnelle spearheaded
recruiting efforts that revived the Princeton men’s hockey
program and led to three ECAC Final Four appearances and the team’s
first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. He explains, “In recruiting,
you need a tireless work ethic. You need to identify talent that
fits your needs in both ability and character. Having gone to school
here, I am able to speak about the experience first-hand and relay
the satisfaction that being a part of Princeton hockey has brought
me.” The transition from assistant
to head coach has been a smooth one for Quesnelle. Through January
4, the Tigers were 5-5-3 overall (4-3-2 ECAC), and the coach’s
familiarity with both the Princeton hockey program and the university
itself has been valuable in his new role. He says, “I’ve
been here so long that nothing has caught me off guard. There have
been times when I have been trying to balance a lot, because, as
the head coach, you need to focus on the big picture rather than
specific components of the program.” That big picture contains
some rosy images, in Quesnelle’s view. “Toot was able
to build a strong foundation for this program and accomplish some
great things,” Quesnelle says. “I want to see us take
the next step. We have an internal expectation of ourselves to finish
in the top four in our league every year. We want to be at Lake
Placid (the ECAC Final Four) at the end of the season.” Quesnelle says that the
Tigers have been able to significantly upgrade their team speed
in recent years while maintaining a balance between skill and strength.
“I like to utilize speed, which we have improved throughout
the years,” says the coach. “But you need to also be able
to control the game physically with size and strength. I think a
lot of people were surprised when we played Michigan (the eventual
national champion) in the 1988 NCAA Tournament. We took the game
to them and were able to dictate the style of play.” Though his responsibilities
have changed, Quesnelle’s relationship with his players remains
the same. He explains, “As an assistant coach and throughout
the recruiting process, I developed a relationship with every player
on our team. These guys know me; who I am and what I do. I think
the worst thing I could do would be to try to project an image that
isn’t Len Quesnelle now that I am the head coach.” Quesnelle
believes that the increased demands on his time make it critical
for him to maintain an open line of communication with the players
and assistant coaches. He adds, “When Toot was here, we did
things by committee -- bouncing ideas off one another and sharing
information. That enabled us to understand exactly the direction
we wanted to take this program.” It was his relationship
with Cahoon and his love of Princeton that kept Quesnelle entrenched
on the Tiger bench for the last 12 years. Quesnelle turned down
offers from other schools because he was committed to the Tigers.
He says, “I believed in what we were doing as a coaching staff,
and I learned a great deal from Toot. Working with him has prepared
me for this step in my career. Being the head coach at Princeton
is both an opportunity and a challenge. I am passionate about Princeton
hockey, and I want to see this program excel.” By M.G.
Flying high with the Eagles: Marc Ross '95 has an eye for talent
In early December, Ross
was named the director of college scouting for the National Football
League’s Philadelphia Eagles. The former Princeton All-Ivy
wide receiver had served as the club’s eastern regional scout
since 1997. Ross first joined the Eagles during the summer of 1996
as a player personnel department intern and was hired full-time
after receiving his master’s degree in sports management from
the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. At 27, Ross is the youngest
director of college scouting in the NFL. “When I worked as
an intern in player personnel, I did everything from picking players
up at the airport to getting coffee for executives,” says Ross.
“But I also got to sit in on some meetings, watch tape of players,
and get a real feel for what scouts look for when evaluating talent.
The internship served me well because it gave me a clear indication
that football personnel was a career path I hoped to pursue. “Since then, things
have come very fast. I’ve always set goals and have a timetable
for those goals. This has come quicker than I had anticipated and
that’s exciting. But then again, you can never be complacent.” Before his promotion,
Ross scouted players attending East Coast schools. During the college
football season, Ross visited a different school each day. On a
typical trip to North Carolina, for example, Ross would travel to
Duke on Monday. He would speak with coaches, watch films and practice,
and then write reports for the Eagles’ brass at night. The
process would continue at the University of North Carolina on Tuesday,
North Carolina State on Wednesday, East Carolina on Thursday, and
Wake Forest on Friday. Ross would select a game to watch on Saturday
and then move to a different state the following Monday. The Eagles’ first-round
selections from the past two drafts were both plucked from Ross’s
territory: QB Donovan McNabb of Syracuse, who finished second in
this season’s most valuable player voting, and defensive tackle
Corey Simon of Florida State. Both contributed significantly to
Philadelphia’s return to the playoffs this season. And though
Ross only chuckles when asked if he deserves credit for “discovering”
Philly’s two young guns, the Eagles’ decision to heed
his advice and make McNabb and Simon top draft picks illustrates
the confidence the organization has in Ross’s ability to measure
talent. Eagles director of football
operations Todd Modrak says, “Marc is an outstanding individual.
He’s organized and efficient. He has an eye for talent. He’s
an outstanding person who has a great future in this league.” In his new position,
Ross reviews all of the scouting reports on college players throughout
the country. Scouts from the Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, and
West Coast submit their reports directly to him. Ross will still
hit the road to observe players, but the most critical aspect of
his job will be to develop a list of recommendations for Modrak
and Eagles head coach Andy Reid. They, in conjunction, make the
final selections. Reid recently said in a New York Times article,
“The success here is because of a lot of things. We have a
great front office, great assistant coaches, and players who love
to play the game. You can really appreciate all of that as a head
coach.” Ross will continue to
follow the recruiting philosophy that has helped turn a lifeless
Eagles squad into a winner. Physical talent is an obvious factor
in estimating a player’s value, but the Philadelphia organization
has made an increased effort to cultivate players who are motivated,
competitive, and possess high moral character. Blazing speed and
raw power may open eyes and drop jaws, but the Eagles’ front
office also seeks out intangibles such as leadership, discipline,
and intuitiveness. “Our philosophy
is to bring in guys who are great players, but great people also,”
says Ross. “That model has really worked for us in the past
few years in our draft and with the players we’ve brought in
through free agency. Our team is good now because everybody plays
together, and they all want to win together. We’re a team in
the true sense of the word, and that element offers an advantage
when the score is close late in the game. “When we go to schools,
we talk to coaches, the strength coach, trainers, graduate assistants
-- anyone who can give us a feel for what the player is like.
After the season, we’ll sit down with the player one-on-one
and talk to him to formulate our own opinion regarding what type
of person we think he is. From there, you just hope you’re
right.” Even as the youngest
in his position in the NFL, Ross still considers himself a few yards
short of the end zone. A general manager’s spot is his ultimate
goal, and, at his current pace, his dream may soon become a reality. Ross says, “I love
what I’m doing, and I work with great people. I eventually
want to be the general manager of a team and director of player
operations. That doesn’t mean I’m looking for a job or
always looking to move. All you can do is the best job possible
right now, but you always have a goal to move forward.” Ross admits there is
more for him to learn before making the leap to the general manager’s
chair. Involvement in pro scouting, negotiating contracts, and understanding
the nuances of the salary cap are areas where he must build expertise.
But as Ross points out, he successfully made the switch from defensive
back to wideout and punt returner during his playing days at Princeton
because, he says “I’ve always been offensive minded.”
That mind-set has undoubtedly contributed to his rapid climb within
the Eagles organization. And it should only be a matter of time
before he crosses the goal line. By Mark Gola Mark Gola is the author of the Louisville Slugger Complete Book of Pitching.
Former Princeton lacrosse
standout Josh Sims ’00 has been selected to receive the Top
VIII Award, the NCAA’s highest undergraduate honor. Sims is
the first Princeton athlete and fourth Ivy Leaguer ever to win the
award. The Top VIII Award recognizes achievement in athletics, scholarship,
and community service. Sims, along with seven other recipients,
was honored January 7 in Orlando, Florida, at the NCAA’s annual
convention, in Walt Disney World. During his lacrosse career
at Princeton, Sims led the Tigers to national championships in his
freshman and sophomore years. The Tigers returned to the championship
game during his senior year, but fell to Syracuse. Sims was a three-time
All-America and was named the 2000 Ivy League Player of the Year. Sims graduated last spring
with a 3.54 grade point average in economics and was a two-time
Academic All-America. He also worked with the Princeton lacrosse
team to raise money for the Central Jersey Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Ivy League football is
on the rise. Including New York Giant quarterback Jason Garrett
’89, there are 10 Ivy Leaguers currently on National Football
League rosters. And that number may increase in 2001. Dennis Norman
’01 was invited to play in the Blue-Gray Bowl, a college football
all-star game that serves as a proving ground for potential NFL
draft picks. Former Tiger gridiron
great Keith Elias ’94 has signed a contract with the New York/New
Jersey Hitmen of the fledgling XFL. The league will make its debut
this spring. John Rogers, Jr. ’79
was recently featured in Sports Illustrated. The former Princeton
basketball team captain is the CEO and primary shareholder of Ariel,
the country’s first African-American-owned money-management
firm. Rogers is the captain and coach of the company’s three-on-three
basketball team, which competes in NBA-sponsored Hoop-It-Up tournaments.
The team, which is made up of Rogers and a host of former Tigers
(Craig Robinson ’83, Kit Mueller ’91, and Sean Jackson
’92), has won 12 of the 17 tournaments in which it has competed
and has qualified for the Hoop-It-Up world championships. Princeton placed 34th
in the final 1999-2000 Sears Directors’ Cup standings, the
highest ranking of any non-scholarship school. The Sears Directors’
Cup recognizes the school which has had the greatest overall success
in NCAA-sponsored athletic competition each year.
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Len
Quesnelle grew up skating the frozen lakes and ponds of Bramalea,
Ontario. He played his first organized game of hockey at age five
and fashioned his playing style after the many great Canadian players
who starred in the U.S.’s National Hockey League. So when his
skates first cut the ice at Princeton’s Baker Rink, the freshman
Quesnelle had some lofty expectations. He recalls, “Like most
recruits, I thought I would come here and set the Ivy League on
fire. I didn’t realize what a strong caliber of hockey they
played at Princeton.”
Marc
Ross ’95 learned many admirable traits from his father, a Philadelphia
public school teacher. Ross is disciplined, highly motivated, personable,
and respectful. His greatest trait, however, may be one that was
inherited, not learned. Much like his father can size up a classroom
and quickly point out the class clown or the teacher’s pet,
Ross can read people. And that keen eye for evaluation has made
him a rising star in the game he has played since childhood -- football.
